complete there. people already arriving along the mall. later this hour, we'll take you live to the steps of the capitol for a closer look at the stage and the last-minute preparations. for the hundreds of thousands who are up and making the long trip to watch today's inauguration, we are right there with youment we're watching the rails and keeping you up to date on everything you need to know before you go. a closer look at the capitol right now. it is bustling already. we're just a few hours away from the inauguration ceremony. the mall will be packed with hundreds of thousands of people. we have crews across the region preparing you for this historic day ahead. whether braving the cold and the crowds or watching it all from home. good morning. welcome to this special edition of "news4 today." i'm eun yang. i'm aaron gilchrist. we're coming to you live overlooking the u.s. capitol this morning where everything is set for the 57th presidential

inauguration. the second inauguration of president barack obama. this morning, a new estimate of how many people will attend today's ceremony. the district now expecting between 500,000 and 700,000 people to attend today's event. the initial estimate was 600,000 to 800,000. if you are among them, you'll be able to access the mags al mall in exactly one hour. the gates open at 7:00 this morning. metro is advised but beware, there are closed stations this morning. more on that in a moment. organizers do recommend that you wear some comfortable shoes. >> good shoes. you might need layers and definitely a heavy winter coat. storm team 4 meteorology tom kierein with your forecast. good morning. >> good morning. you need warm socks too. the cold can come from your feet and move all the way up. so if your feet are warm, and your head is warm, usually the rest of your body is warm. streaks of high cloudiness producing a few flurries. under the cloud, it's below freezing most of the region in

dark blue. in the mid 20s to upper 20s. reagan mags al down to 33. it's only near 20 out of the mountains of western maryland and into west virginia. national. it's only near 20 out of the mountains of western maryland and into west virginia. here's the inaugural day forecast. staying cold -- during the time of the swearing in ceremony, the low 40s and during the time of the parade, early to mid-afternoon, in the mid and upper 40s briefly. by late afternoon, low 40s with a southwest wind. could get snow showers tonight. a look at that in ten minutes. now here's traffic with danella. >> if you're traveling southbound in maryland at powder mill road. one lane gets you by the accident there. as far as delays go, you're just slow approaching the accident. so you'll hit a stop quickly. but once you're past powder mill road, the lanes open up for you. in the district, live look pennsylvania avenue. roads are closed already.

more details, follow us on twitter. first, the number 4, traffic and that's on twitter. back over to you both, aaron and eun. thank you, danella. congratulations mr. president. >> thank you, mr. chief justice. thank you so much. >> thank you, sweetie. >> you did not miss all the festivities. right now president obama is already in his second term. chief justice john roberts swore him in yesterday during a private ceremony. the constitution requires the president take the oath of office on january 20th. this is the seventh time inauguration day has fallen on a sunday. a bit more public. >> a little bit. hundreds much thousands of people packing the national mall to see the president take the oath of office. news 4's megan mcgrath will be among them. she'll tell us ha to expect if they're headed to the event. >> reporter: well, we're starting to see a lot of people come down here, especially the folks who are here for the general public section where it's first come first serve had terms of getting your space.

they wanted to get here early, got a good view of the jumbotron to see the swearing in later this morning. people seem to have heeded the advice to pack light. there are a number of prohibited items, things you cannot bring down on the mall. the advice is to really bring as little as possible to help with the long security lines like we've seen in years past. now, if you have a ticket, if you were fortunate enough to get a ticket, keep in mind that you have to report to the specific gate that is listed on your ticket. they're color coded. take a look before you head on down. if you wait in the line and get to the front and you're at the wrong gate, they'll turn you away and you have to go to the correct gate. you certainly don't want to miss it because you get caught up in lines because you're in the wrong place. get an idea of where you need to go before you come down here. there are, as i mentioned, a number of prohibited items, things that you cannot bring. let's take a look. first, sticks, poles, sign supports. you can't bring them. packages, backpacks, large bags,

suitcases. also prohibited, thermoses and coolers. here's one folks don't realize. strollers and umbrellas. you are not going to be allowed to bring them on to the grounds of the u.s. capitol. again, pack light. but certainly dress warmly. it is very, very cold out here. so dress in layers. have those hand warmers, the toe warmers if you got them. you'll need them. reporting live from the national mall, megan mcgrath. back to you. with all that security, don't think about driving down to the mall today. police have been putting up barricades since sunday and many roads started shutting down at 3:00 this morning. >> that makes metro the best option for you. but keep in mind, three stations near the mall will be closed. take a look. smithsonian, archives and mt. vernon stations. adam tuss is keeping track of the crowds at the vienna station. good morning. >> reporter: metro definitely your best bet this morning.

here at the vienna metro station, the crowds will be steady. not overwhelming but definitely steady. the consensus is this is nowhere near what it was like in 2009 where it was just overwhelmed and mobbed. the good news, just checked with metro officials. there still is parking at end of the line metro stations. people are also taking the advice to get money on their smart passes and fare cards before they get into the system so they have enough to come back. of course, metro stayed open, opened up at 4:00 this morning. they'll be running rush hour service until 9:00 tonight. that's 17 straight hours of metro service. even if the crowd is lighter, metro is not putting the toothpaste back into the tube. they're going to keep running the train. people are scheduled and shifted. they'll be here working all day. we'll keep an eye on things. things are moving pretty well here. adam tuss, news 4. >> adam, thank you. toothpaste in the tube. interesting analogy there. nearly 9,000 people taking part in the inaugural parade.

>> it will begin near the capitol, run along pennsylvania avenue, northwest toward the white house. pedestrians are not allowed to cross pennsylvania avenue along the parade route. tickets are required for bleacher seats, but there will be room to stand if you do not have a ticket. >> one featured float will pay tribute to the late dr. martin luther king jr. of course, this is the holiday observing his work here in the united states. also, you should look out for another float that honors the tuskegee airmen and features a replica of a plane flown in world war ii. >> lots of floats and local band. a great parade. >> absolutely. it's 6:07 right now. still ahead, pay close attention to the moment he put his hand on the piebible. why has so much meaning. team coverage of the trip into town. >> if you are heading to the parade today, we want to hear from you. tweet us at nbc washington or send us a picture on instagram.

add the ha

you may notice the president placing his hand on two bibles. that's because the president is using the bible abraham lincoln used for his inauguration in 1861 and dr. martin luther king jr.'s personal bible. today is martin luther king jr. day. both bibles will be stacked on top of each other for today's ceremony. >> incredible historic value from those two bibles. 6:11 is our time. that means it's time for weather and traffic on the 1s. and a chilly, chill start to this day, tom. >> you need a heavy coat if you're heading to the mall. down into the 20s, near 30. a few streaks of high cloudiness coming through. hour by hour today, might have an isolated flurry. but a greater chance of that

after 6:00 p.m. a rapid warmup after the swearing in ceremony. bit of a blustery wind. tonight, we could get passing snow showers. 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. that might put down a quick dusting. back in ten minutes with a seven-day outlook. here's traffic with danella. >> this is southbound bw parkway in maryland at powder mill road. you're going to see just the right lane getting by the crash there. it does also involve an overturned vehicle. we'll talk about delays. they're about one mile right now. jammed from 197. very slow towards powder mill road. northbound from the beltway, you are seeing a slight rubber necking delay because of this earlier accident. it is best for you to jump on i-95 instead to make your way around that accident. now, here's a live look at i-95. you can see here traffic getting by without any issues at all at powder mill road. aaron and eun. thank you, danella. we're talking inauguration food when we return. what's on the menu today for the exclusive luncheon and keeping

party-goers fed. the inauguration party is in full swing, the star performers who are in town for tonight's big bashes. the woman with the most important handwriting in town when our inauguration day coverage continues. [ male announcer ] now at your neighborhood subway: the big hot pastrami melt.

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taste one at your local subway today! good evening, this is flo. [laughs] yes, i'm that flo. aren't you sweet! licensed phone-ups available 24/7. call 1-800-progressive. welcome back at 6:15. a live look at the national mall. the crowds are starting to arrive as you can see. we'll take you live there a little later. with more on what you need to know approximate you're among

those making the journey to watch the ceremony. >> the first thing is that security is going to be tight today on the ground, on the water and in the air. jets are enforcing a no-fly zone in effect within a 30-mile radius of the capitol. six miles of the potomac and the streets all over the district. there are streets that are closed right now for about 150 blocks around. also on stand by, plainclothes police officers, toxic air detectors and thousands of doses of antidotes in case of a chemical or biological attack. that's encouraging news for the half million people on their way to the national mall right now. >> most are getting there by train. tony tull is live at the new carrollton metro station with a look at how things are moving. good morning, tony. >> reporter: good morning guys. beautiful ride if you're headed out here. i talked with one of the supervisors again. two trains every six minutes. no wait. take a look at the platform. you see one. trains pulling out of the station now. no crowd up there.

they opened the gates about 3:45 this morning. folks were able to get in there, get their smart card and head to d.c. we've been talking to folks across the country, california, even a woman from jamaica. now we have folks from new jersey. now, i know you are coming out for the inauguration. what made you trek from new jersey. >> because this is his last term and that's my president. we love him. we're going to do anything for our president. >> give me your names. >> row landa, charisse morris. you decided not to drive and use the metro. >> wre. >> smart move, right? >> very smart. >> now we're getting on the metro after we drove here. en swroi your time in d.c. enjoy the inauguration. hanks for spending some time with us. beautiful ride if you're heading out of new carrollton this morning. every six minutes they have two trains heading out of here. it's a very good ride on the metro and in d.c. the latest from new carrollton, tony tull, back to you. thank you.

from the mall to the dance floor, thousands will go to one or two of the inaugural balls. >> some got their party on early. in arlington, people ate, drank, danced well into the night. especially that guy. similar party in maryland, the party went long into the night at national harbor. ravens fans also got to watch the game seeing the team make it into the super bowl. those going to tonight's balls will have quite a show as well. beyonce, kelly clarkson, james taylor set to perform this afternoon and evening. >> what a great lineup. this is a busy day for catering. the kitchen staff will be serving at a number of private parties tonight. they also plan to have menu items for crowds out on the national mall during the day. >> after today's public swearing in ceremony and speech, the president will have a traditional inaugural luncheon. >> an elaborate menu. the first course features a steamed lobster with new england clam chowder sauce. it's hickory grilled bison with

red potato horseradish cake and hudson valley apple pie with cream cheese. my stomach is growling. >> after the parade, you need that. the luncheon will feature beautiful handwritten invitations and place cards thanks to a silver spring woman. >> sammie little is the official cal igraefr. she does every invitation to make sure it's perfect for the occasi occasion. >> it's kbiet quite an honor an momentous time to be a little tiny part of history and to see all the historical things coming together for each luncheon. >> little first started working for the inaugural luncheon in 1997. the secretary of senate noticed her work and hired her for president clinton's second

inaugural. she's worked every inaugural luncheon since then. had morning, veteran tv anchor barbara walters is in the hospital recovering from a fall. she slipped at an inauguration party here in d.c. saturday night at the british ambassador's home. walters has a cut on her head but is doing okay otherwise. the time is 6:20. when you look at what's in the forecast this week, we're lucky that it's relatively warm today. >> that's right. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is back in the studio with our forecast today and cold weather coming too, tom. >> much colder. we have a polar blast coming in beginning late tonight. between now and then, we have a few flurries showing up on radar. trying to reach the ground here in fairfax county, southern montgomery, northern prince george's. northern anne arundel. holding steady in the upper 20s, 30 degrees. we'll stay here for a couple of hours. a nice warmup by the time of the swearing-in ceremony. ought to be in the low 40s then.

winds will pick up, gusting to 20 miles per hour. a lot of cloudiness and maybe a little flurry activity this afternoon. during the time of the parade, actually may be in the mid and upper 40s between 1:00, 3:00 or so. quickly turning colder tonight as winds will pick up. could get passing snow showers, 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. some could produce a dusting on mainly grassy areas and way below freezing tonight with strong winds down to near 20 tomorrow morning. highs only the upper 20s tomorrow. looks like we'll stay below freezing with gusty winds tuesday night into wednesday and then lighter winds but still below freezing temperatures into the weekend. might get accumulating snow on friday. stay tuned. i'm back in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning. still checking on the accident bw parkway has the right lane getting by the overturned vehicle at powder mill road. making the trip to maryland, a backup. a live look from chopper 4. sluggish in the area and again, that backup is about a mile

right now. as you make your way from 197, that's where you'll hit the brakes southbound toward powder mill road. bethesda, an accident old georgetown road near beach avenue. use caution. pat, over to you. >> good morning, i am pat lawson muse. we'll go back to eun and aaron at the capitol in a moment. next, a look at some of the other stories making news this morning, including a famous football household divided this morning.

welcome back to our coverage of the second inauguration of president barack obama. in just about half an hour, the national mall will begin filling up more than half a million people are expected to witness the swearing in and to watch the parade. good morning. i'm pat lawson muse. we'll go back live to aaron and eun live in a moment. first, a look at the other stories making news on this monday morning. prince george's county police are looking for answers in the shooting death of a teenager. investigators say 16-year-old marcus jones was shot along webster lane in ft. washington over the weekend.

police are following substantial leads in the case. d.c. police shot and killed three dogs that attacked a boy. the attack happened yesterday afternoon near sheridan and 8th streets in northwest. police were forced to open fire on the pit bulls to stop the attack. the victim is expected to be okay. the super bowl is going to be a family affair. the ravens and 49ers both won, pitting brothers jim and john harbaugh against each other. the ravens beat the pats 28-13 after trailing at the half. the 49ers overcame a record 17-point deficit to beat the atlanta falcons 28-24. the super bowl will be played in new orleans on february 3rd. and that's a look at some of the other stories making news had morning. up next, we'll take you back live to the capitol when our special inauguration day edition of "news4 today" continues.

the world will be watching this stage in just a few short hours. this is a live picture from the steps of the united states capitol. you can see it is a very busy place already this morning. everything is in place. as we speak, a mass movement of about a half million people on its way to the mall. good morning everyone. welcome back to this special inauguration edition of "news4 today"ment i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm eun yang. take a look at this crowd gathered outside the farragut north metro station. we'll go live will in a moment. let's check the forecast. you may have noticed the

folks bundted up big time this morning. >> they're doing the right thing. it's cold. it's below freezing. tom kierein. starting with high clouds drifting over. the eastern sky, we should have a beautiful sunrise at dawn on this inauguration morning. they're below freezing in the upper 20s. most of maryland, west virginia, western maryland. many locations near 20 degrees. now, closer to washington, around in montgomery county, prince george's, arlington and fairfax in the upper 20s to near 30. right in washington on the mall, it's near the freezing mark. the scene for the inauguration today by 8:00 a.m. should be in the mid 30s. but then, between 11:00 and noon during the swearing in ceremony. ought to be in the low 40s. mid to upper 40s for a couple of hours early afternoon during the parade. winds out of the southwest and get gusty around 20 miles per hour by late afternoon. could get snow showers tonight. a look at that in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning.

your first 4 traffic report, starting in bethesda. report of an accident near beach avenue. good news in maryland at powder mill road. that earlier crash out of the roadway. your delays are dissipating. over to i-95 in maryland, between the baltimore beltway and the capitol beltway, a live at 216, no issues at all. i-95 in virginia from prince william parkway, in both directions, clear right now. aaron, over to you. thank you, danella. right now thousands of people are already heading downtown for the inauguration festivities. most public events won't be for another, oh, five hours or so. president obama will take the oath of office, of course, right before noon this morning in front of the u.s. capitol. he will deliver his inaugural address about half an hour after that. and the first lady will then attend an inaugural luncheon inside the capitol just after 1:00. then they will take part in the inaugural parade just after 2:30 this afternoon.

of course, the stage is almost completely set for today's inauguration ceremonies. >> there will be seats on the steps of the capitol building. once again, julie carey is there and joins us live. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the stage might be set but there's still a lot of activity. it is really buzzing here this morning on the capitol steps. take a look down below me where the seats are. that is where all the special dignitaries will be sitting. behind where the president will deliver his inaugural address. you can see on those seats some white pieces of paper. they have been busily going from seat to seat labeling those to make sure the right people are in the right seats and putting out programs. it's been a very busy scene here this morning. photographer chris plater can pan on up. you can see a beautiful sight here with the banners hanging on the capitol. the lights out. a very busy morning here on the west steps of the capitol. the president did make an appearance last night with some of his supporters. he was at the building museum

and a little bit of a hint of one of the themes that he will strike in his inaugural address today. he made it clear that this is not a celebration today of election results but a celebration of this nation. he told his supporters "what we're doing is celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation we call home." he also then went on to joke he was going to keep his remarks brief because he had to save a few lines for today. we can expect that he certainly will talk in his address about continuing to build the economy, about the need for cutting the deficit and we know, too of his main legislative issues that he wants to strike on are both immigration and gun violence. let me tell you, star studded performers coming to the stage here today. beyonce will be here singing the national anthem. kelly clarkson will be here and james taylor will be singing america the beautiful. really nice moment here yesterday during the rehearsals. he came out, james taylor came out to rehearse and the tabernacle choir, they were up

on the steps and he paid a little visit to them. they were applauding. their big moment comes later today when they'll be performing for the millions who will watch this inaugural ceremony. reporting live from the capitol, julie carey, back to you. >> julie thanks so much. you won't see much grass on the front yard today. there were huge plastic panels put down that will cover much of the green. this is to protect the muly planted grass there. the park service spent $16 million over the past year and a half to replace trampled and battered grass on the national mall. >> they don't want to get it trampled and battered once again because of so many people there today. today's inaugural poem will make history as well. >> richard blanco will be the first ever latino poet to read the poem. he grew up in miami and born in spain. he lives in maine working as a civil engineer and author. he says he feels kektded to president obama as the two have similar life stories. >> the life story that always

resonated with me. i can imagine him as a child negotiating cultural questions as well as i've had as a cuban american. the whole question of where do i belong? what's home? >> now blanco will make history as the first latino and make history to be the first openly gay poet to recite the inauguration poem. thousands of extra law enforcement officers are on duty for inauguration events. >> many got their marching orders within the last 24 hours. >> pro -- hundreds of police officers traveled to d.c. and were sworn in as deputy u.s. marshals. this was a ceremony at american university's bender arena yesterday. they got a security briefing and reminders on what to look out for in the crowds. the lines are starting to build at metro stations around the area. >> thompson is at the north metro station. tisch a, good morning.

>> good morning. i am with two folks who got up at 3:30, 4:00 this morning coming from detroit. why did you get up so early? >> we wanted to be possibly able to ee him. we're going to get up as early as we can feasibly. we were up late last night. just get up as early as we can and maybe we'll get to a spot where we can see a spec. >> you came from germantown. how was the metro ride sm. >> it was different. we didn't know what to expect. first time in d.c. my first time in d.c. his first time riding the subway in d.c. it was fun to have the experience this morning. >> is it cold in detroit right now? >> yes. >> how does this compare? >> it's warm. >> it is pretty warm. compared to last inaugural, it's a lot warmer. >> what are you hoping to see today? what are you going do? >> i want to be a part of everything. i want to hear him speak. i'm happy to be here. >> so it's starting to get busy

here. people are hitting their starbucks and making a walk. this is the last place you can get in a car and from here on, it's all about the parade. i'm going to throw it back to you guys. >> all right, tisch a thompson. i like how he's from detroit. it looks like a lighter jacket. i would have four layers on. still ahead this morning, inauguration day brings back bad memories for a lot of people. we'll tell you what's being done to prevent gridlock. >> what the president's daughter whispered to his father as he took the oath of office. we'll go live to the national mall where the crowds are starting to arrive. that's where our coverage that's where our coverage continues.

that's where our coverage cogo, go, go, go! bye sweetie. honey what are you doing? we gotta go! it's dress-like-a-president day, i'm supposed to be martin van buren. who? martin van buren! google? martin van buren. ♪

welcome back at 6:41. you might be asking, what does it take to put on an inauguration? this picture shows a lot of guys with blackberrys and maybe

windex in the distance for all that glass around there, cleaning some of the glass and making sure that everything on the inaugural platform is camera-ready. everything you need to know if you are on your way to the mall is just ahead. for many, today's inauguration will be a first-time event with sights and sounds they've never experienced before. for one man, he's become a veteran of these inaugural events. >> in fact, i hope they're not watching. but i would pay them for the honor of doing the announcing. >> that's charlie brotman. he's the official voice of the inaugural parade. it started in 1957 when president eisenhower asked him to be the announcer. he's been announcing for over 63 years. >> we're luck toy have him. he knows a lot about presidential history and he sees the changes. we love charlie. >> let's check in with tom

kierein, our meteorologist, for a look at how cold it is. >> you're about to head down to the mall. layer up. temperatures are below froeezin. right on the mall now. hour by hour throughout the day, a nice warmup during the ceremony between 11:00 and noon. maybe a little sun shining and in the low 40s. peaking briefly in the upper 40s between noon and 3:00. colder after that with the clouds moving in. this evening, we could get passing snow showers. some could produce a brief dusting. into the low 30s to near freezing by midnight. by then, the wind will blow up to 25, 30 miles an hour out of north and west. it will feel like the teens with those strong gusty winds. turning even colder tomorrow. extended blast of cold arctic air in place for the next several days. the seven-day outlook is coming up in ten minutes. danella has the latest with your first 4 traffic. good morning.

>> good morning. checking on an accident on mid-county highway at woodfield road. all lanes are blocked in both directions because of the two-vehicle accident in that area. let's head to 123, ox road. fairfax station road. here your southbound lanes are blocked. the crash involves a downed pole. so the southbound -- the alternate road this morning is going to be roberts road. you can take that instead. let talk about i-66. nice and clear in both directions. outside the beltway and inside of the beltway, no reports of accidents or delays at this time. aaron, over to you. >> thank you danella. don't count on walking through the tunnel to get through the national moul this year. it will be closed as it was four years ago. you might recall, thousands of people walked into the tunnel mi way and got stuck for hours. want to show you a live picture right now of the tunnel. as you can see, nobody walking into the tunnel at this time. there are more signs warning people about the closure there.

>> crowds head to the national mall to see the swearing-in ceremony, many others are trying to snag a good spot on the parade route. >> select gates are open now along the parade. others open within the hour. the parade begins near the capitol, runs along pennsylvania avenue near the white house. pedestrians are not allowed to cross along the parade route. tickets are required for bleacher seats. but there will be room to stand if you do not have a ticket. >> here's the 411 on the parade. fun 11 if you want to call it that. the parade starts about 2:30 this afternoon after the inauguration luncheon. it will feature eight floats, 59 groups, 8800 participant and 200 animals. you can look out for floats representing hawaii and illinois, home states of president obama and the first lady. the final float will represent the overall inauguration theme this year. our people, our future. >> news 4 will bring you live coverage of the parade. jim vance and doreen gentzler will have a bird's eye view atop of the museum. it's always a great view to look

down on pennsylvania avenue, see all the floats coming down, the different bands from around the country. a couple from our area as well. >> also a great view to see it on tv. >> that's right. >> the front of d.c.'s parade viewing stand will also support its statehood efforts. >> the district spent more than $300,000 on the stand in front of the wilson building. mayor vincent gray said -- it reads a more perfect union must include full democracy in d.c. today, president obama will use the inauguration to show his support for giving the district a voice this congress. his limo will use d.c. license plate that reads "taxation without representation." those tags will remain on through the second term. the district designed the plate in 2000 to call attention to not having a voting member in congress. president bill clinton used the tags on his limousine as well but george w. bush did not. a half million people on their way to the national mall as we speak. >> most are getting there by

train. news 4's tony tull is live at the new carrollton metro station in prince george's county with a look at how things are going. >> reporter: good morning. beautiful ride. no problems here if you're heading out of new carrollton. they have two trains every six minutes heading out. guys, take a look. you can see one train heading out. folks are getting in and out of here quickly. we've been talking to people all morning long. we have one young lady from buffalo, new york. you bring your family along with you. you weren't here in 2009. but you're telling me you're not missing this one. >> no, i'm not. i definitely wanted to be here. i think it's a great thing that we have an african-american president who is now serving his second term. >> that's awesome. real quick. >> gladys. >> penny. >> alicia. >> shane a. >> patricia bullock. >> ladies, thanks for spending time with us. enjoy the inauguration and d.c. if you're headed out on the metro, no problem out of new

carrollton. two trains every six minutes. if you're heading out, look for a fantastic commute. that's the latest from here. back to you aaron and eun. tony, thanks so much. we may have a sense of what the inaugural address will include later this morning. >> he spoke last night at the national building museum. >> we're celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation that we call home. [ applause ] after we celebrate, let's make sure to work as hard as we can to pass on an america that is worthy not only of our past but also of our future. >> the president and first lady will attend two inaugural balls tonight. while today is a day of celebration for the president, reality sets in tomorrow and there is a lot of work to be done. >> this morning, nbc news deputy dough min coe mont narrow joins us with a look ahead to the next term. >> good morning. >> thanks, eun.

there are a lot of major issues facing the president. some controversial. which are the ones important to cement his legacy looking forward? >> i think we've seen a more confident president obama start to emerge in this second term. learning a lot of lessons from that first term. once he gets past some of the fiscal issues and that can't be dismissed. every day spent on the fiscal issues is going to be one less day he can spend on some of the more ambitious items on his agenda, like guns and immigration who anything on the environment or education policy, and the president really only has six to eight months to get that done according to historia historians. let me ask you more about thatment we know you wrote a piece for nbcnews.com that explains why the next six months are critical for the president. can you talk a little more about that? >> yes. this is something, like i said, historians have seen that presidents often only have about six to eight months to get something done. they look at lbj trying to get

civil rights or the great society items of legislation done that we think of today. and if president obama is going to get anything done on his sweeping call to action on guns or anything done on immigration where really latinos were such a huge part of his coalition to win in 2012, if he's going to get any of that stuff done, it's really important to get off to a quick start and get some of that done in the first six to eight months because otherwise, most of these guys, these elected officials look toward the mid terms and they start to think about who is coming after president obama. really kind of an amazing thing that you have four years boiled into maybe 3 1/2. >> thank you, from nbc's political unit. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. president obama is making sure to be an attentive husband during this inauguration weekend. >> he made a point of complimenting the first lady's new hairstyle. she's been sporting bangs in

recent days and the president raved about her new 'do at the national building museum. >> i love michelle obama. and to address the most significant event of this weekend, i love her bangs. >> of course, the question many fashionistas are asking this morning, what will the first lady wear to tonight's inaugural balls? i'm sure she'll look stunning. the person she chooses will be catapulted into fame. that's what happened with jason woo and that gorgeous white gown. last week tom told us that ronald reagan had the warmest and coldest inauguration day. >> today we're settling in the middle. tom kierein with our inauguration day forecast. >> we'll take that for late january. not going to be too cold but certainly cold now. there's capitol hill. a live view from our city camera. 33 at reagan national.

cloudiness streaming over. a wind out of east at 5 to 10 miles per hour. streaks of high cloudiness now passing over. producing a few flurries north and east of washington northern anne arundel county, prince george's. maybe a few scattered flurries in fairfax county and into western maryland. temperatures are down into the 20s. locally, around the beltway, arlington, fairfax, prince george's, montgomery counties near 30 degrees. it's going to hold steady here below freezing to near freezing for another couple of hours. here's the inauguration day forecast on the mall. by 8:00 a.m., still mid 30s or so. upper 30s. by the time of the swearing in ceremony between 11:00 and noon. the low 40s. may climb briefly into the mid and upper 40s between 1:00 and 3:00. by 4:00 with a lot of clouds around. back down to the low 40s. winds gusting around 20 miles per hour. then we could get snow showers this evening. some quickly passing by. like a rain shower in the summer. only these will be producing snow. might be briefly putting down a

dusting. temperatures down at or below freezing by late evening. after midnight, clearing out. winds blowing over 25, 30 miles an hour from time to time late tonight. during the day on tuesday, a frigid day with those gusty winds with sunshine. highs only in the 20s. frigid morning and cold afternoons all the way into the weekend. could get some accumulating snow on friday. stay tuned. i am back with frequent updates throughout the morning. danella now with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning, tom. still checking on the accident. montgomery county. this is mid county highway woodfield road. the lanes are shut down because of that accident. another update on fairfax county, southbound ox road at fairfax station road. you'll see all of your lanes blocked. involves a downed pole. urging drivers to use roberts road instead as an alternate route and making the trip on i-270, nice and clear in both directions. aaron, over to you.

>> 6:53 right now. thousands of people making their way to the national mall as we speak for president obama's second inauguration. the district now estimates between 500,000 and 700,000 people will attend the inauguration. that's down from the initial estimate of 600,000 to 800,000. the gates to the mall will be opening in ten minutes from right now at 7:00 a.m. metro will be running on a rush-hour schedule for much of the day to help people get to the event. you will still have a bit of a walk, though. three metro stations, smithsonian, archives and mt. vernon square are closed. we want to give you some perspective. our set here is overlooking the capitol right now. just a couple of hundred yards from the stage. megan mcgrath is live all the way on the other end of the mall. today that entire area is going to be packed with people. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're starting to see people come in large numbers at this point to grab their spots here on the mall. should also mention that we've got presidential inaugural committee folks like this woman

here in the vest. they're standing by if you have a question. you're trying to figure out where you need to go, if you have a ticket, they're the people to ask. you have to go to the gate where the ticket is issued. if you go to the wrong gate, they're going to turn you away, make you go to the proper gate. look at your ticket if you've got one and go to the right place. these folks were here four years ago. talk about then and now real quick. >> last time there was quite a lot more people and it was much colder. but we are here about the same time. last time we were closer to the mall. now we're fortunate, we're getting a little closer this year. >> happy to be here. again, big crowds expected. not as big as four years ago, but still a lot of people. there are a lot of road closures. a lot of restrictions. you're not allowed to bring bottles, umbrellas, coolers, anything along those lines. again, if you have a ticket, it's very important that you figure out what gate you need to go to and make sure that you go to the right place or you might

get to the front of that line and get turned away. reporting live from the national mall, megan mcgrath, news 4. eun and aaron, back to you. >> thank you. everyone on the mall will actually be watching the president take the oath of office for the second time. >> his second term technically began yesterday. >> so help you god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> thank you mr. chief justice. thank you so much. >> john roberts swore in the president during a private ceremony. the constitution requires the president take office on january 20th. since that day fell on a sunday, the public inauguration is taking place today. i did it. >> you didn't mess up. >> all right. we got to hear sasha obama's lighthearted side at the official swearing in ceremony yesterday. president obama had just taken the oath of office and went to hug his family. sasha said good job, daddy. he said i did it. she said you didn't mess up. >> there was confusion in the wording of of the oath last time so the president had to take it

twice. got it squared away. stay connected with us. if you're heading to the parade, we want to hear from you. you can tweet us. >> nbc washington or send us pictures on instagram at #disea#d.c. gram. we'll be bringing you updates throughout the "today" show and tune in this afternoon for our live coverage of the inaugural parade. thanks for joining us. we hope you have a great day. see you tomorrow.